


Second-best dancer

by lime_kitty



Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Arcades, Boys In Love, Bruiseshipping, Crush at First Sight, DDR, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Modern AU, Videogames, dance battle, dancing stage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22204444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lime_kitty/pseuds/lime_kitty
Summary: Jay wonders if he'll ever beat the best player of the Dance of Doom videogame. They're a legend, no one really knows what do they look like, only their in-game signature; R.O.C.While having fun with his friends, a mysterious black-haired guy approaches them and asks Jay for a dance battle out of the blue.Jay has faith in his own dancing skills and accepts. Little does he know that things are not going to go as he expects them to.
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker
Comments: 18
Kudos: 133





	Second-best dancer

**Author's Note:**

> So that new Ninjago short kind of ruined an idea I’ve been considering for a fic in which Jay was a cute potato with zero dancing skills… but, hey, on the other side it inspired this other oneshot! So we all win in the end, hahaha!
> 
> I'm still very new to non-smutty stories but I hope you’ll like it ♥

_'Up, left. Now comes the doubles, and… Jump!'_

Bells echoed from the built-in speakers of the Dance of Doom stage, along with sparkles and lasers on the screen, signaling a successful Key Move. The machine creaked and bounced slightly as Jay executed the following moves almost by heart; he'd danced to that one song so many times he could practically do the routine without glancing at the arrows that kept sliding all over the screen, indicating where to place his feet.

Not half a minute later, the melody faded and the characters of the game came back to the front, the blue rock star hopping with a wide grin on his face, holding a crown over his head, while on the other screen the green punk hunched like the loser he was.

Lloyd leaned on the bars that served as limits for the stage. "Damn it, Jay!" He struggled to breathe, wiping a hand over his sweaty forehead. "You said that one was easy!"

"It is," Jay smiled looking at his friend. He then pointed at the game, the bottom of the screen still displaying the song's name and its level of difficulty. "It's only three stars."

"Three!" Lloyd chuckled, regretting the unconscious action the next second as his lungs weren't quite ready yet to spend valuable air like that. "I can barely keep up with _two!_ Dunno how can you even do all those cool spins and jumps while you're hitting the damn panels." As if to prove a point, Lloyd glared down at the colored arrows beneath his feet, he kicked the nearest one with a groan.

Jay laughed, he was about to reply when another one of his friends called him.

"Focus, freckles, or you're going to run out of time."

Jay barely saw Kai as the boy spoke to him. He quickly approached the buttons of the machine. The record list flashing on the screen with a silly winner tune, the slot at the top blinking, waiting to be filled with three letters. Jay punched the buttons and typed in his name —more like _re-typed_ it. He'd won on this specific song multiple times already.

"Yay! I'm the best!" His fists rising in the air as he improvised a short victory dance.

"Of this song, yes," Zane punctuated, standing beside Kai, behind the game stages, holding Lloyd's green hoodie that the boy had taken off earlier, anticipating the intense workout.

Jay pouted in slight annoyance at the boy's remark. Zane wasn't trying to bother him, though, he was merely stating facts. Jay looked at the screen again. The general record list of the whole game popping up and saving Jays score into the system. His electric blue eyes followed it from the bottom to the top. The lowest ranks changed weekly, the titles being passed between the several rookies that gave their first try on the music game. From the middle and up, some of the names started to get familiar, Jay even remembered battling with some of those dancers —and beating them, of course. Then there were three spots at the top displaying the same three letters; _J.A.Y_.

He smiled proudly. He'd come a long way since his first lame try at this game. But the curve of his lips fell as his eyes reached the very first name of the list; _R.O.C_.

It had been there since forever, unbeatable, laughing at Jay whenever he tried to improve his score as he never quite reached the necessary amount of points to surpass that other dancer.

"Still no luck, uh?" Kai said, coming closer to Jay and staring at the blinding screen, eyes fixed on 'the champion'.

"Someday. I just need to keep practicing," Jay told himself for the umpteenth time. That was the only thing that prevented him from throwing the towel. He'd gotten a lot better since the first time, he could surely beat that R.O.C. person someday in the future —in the _near_ future, Jay hoped.

"Do you think it really exist? Maybe it's just a random score that came in with the game," Lloyd theorized, stepping down from the stage and accepting a bottle of water that Zane handed him.

"That is highly unlikely," Zane said. "It's not a round number like it happens on other devices. I'm pretty certain it belongs to a real person."

Jay sighed, eyes boring into the short signature. He knew Zane was right, he paid enough attention to his unknown rival to notice that the numbers changed from time to time. Always adding a little more difference between them whenever Jay managed to snatch more points and get closer to his goal.

R.O.C. was almost a legend in the arcade, at least on what the Dance of Doom was concerned, yet nobody seemed to have seen them in action.

"I wonder what do they look like. Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Kai blabbed.

"Uh, a boy of course," Lloyd offered, elaborating his answer once the group of friends looked at him. "Why would a girl name herself Roc?"

"Maybe they're initials," Zane suggested and Lloyd's nose scrunched up in disbelief, brain kicking into gear to come up with a possible girl name behind those letters.

"Regina O'Charming?" Kai sputtered and the others laughed. Lloyd and he exchanged a few more possibilities, making everyone laugh. As their voices died, Jay looked into the leaderboard one last time before they moved to another game.

"Wait, are you leaving already?" A foreign voice asked. Jay turned around and his eyes found a boy nearing the other stage. His dark hair and eyes almost eating up the colorful lights that lit up the arcade. Dressed in a rather old looking black tank top, his strong and bulky arms caught Jay’s attention immediately. He was also very tall, even as he stood on the floor he was almost eye-level with Jay, who was still on top of the elevated metal platform.

"Uh…" Jay stuttered, the boy's eyes intently looking at him and making him nervous.

"Saw you doing all those cool moves and I was wondering if I could join you in a battle," the stranger explained.

"A battle?!" Kai piped up, immediately approaching the boy. He let out a low-key groan as he looked him up and down. "You know the rules, right? The loser must pay the winner and their crew's drinks or snacks next."

"Yeah, I'm aware," the guy nodded, then they all looked at Jay, the boy flinching at the sudden attention.

"Uhm, okay. If you guys don't mind," he said to his friends which smiled softly. Kai whooped, already considering what would he ask as a prize. He had blind faith in Jay.

"No offense but you just dug your own grave," Kai said leaning on the barrier as the newcomer stepped onto the arrowed floor of the machine. "My buddy here is going to beat your ass."

Jay blushed a little as the black-haired guy looked at him with curiosity. He had to admit that, now that he was seeing him from a shorter distance, the boy was rather attractive; with a strong jaw and thick bushy eyebrows showing up behind his bangs. Jay coughed to get rid of his embarrassment and flattened the front of his T-shirt.

"Yeah, well, I'm actually the second-best player on the scoreboard," he said, taking the chance to brag about his success.

The guy's eyes opened wide. "Really?!" He exclaimed and Jay nodded. "Wow…”

"Chickening out already, big boy?" Kai asked from the floor, biting his lip, eyes drifting to the boy's back —and a little lower. Jay groaned at his friend's annoying flirty nature.

"No, not at all,” the other replied. “That actually makes it a lot more exciting."

Jay cocked an eyebrow at him on the sly. Did this random guy really think he could beat the almost-champion? Jay didn't recognize him as one of the arcade regulars so he probably wasn't all that experienced with the game, just someone curious.

“Then it’s settled!” Kai chirped, smiling playfully at Jay. The boy, along with Zane and Lloyd retreated a couple of steps, making sure to leave enough space between themselves and the dancing platform. 

Jay and the amateur player both fed the machine with another coin and started preparing for the first round. Jay chose his usual rock star character, while the other boy seemed to settle for a lumberjack with a thick mustache. Jay snorted at the choice, he’d never seen anyone picking that skin before, its low popularity was most likely due to the lack of a ‘dancer look’, much like the boy by his side.

“Who’s picking the song?” The colorful flashes around them staining his rival’s face.

“The game?” Jay pointed at the ‘Random’ option on the screen and the other boy nodded happily. Jay smiled at the friendly behavior. As much as he enjoyed winning, he wasn’t a dishonest player and liked his matches to be as fair as possible to give both parties the same chances.

Jay slapped a button, the song selection spinning like the wheel of fortune, finally stopping by a slot. It was one of Jay’s favorites songs and he smiled brightly at it. He replaced his feet as the countdown appeared, glancing at his companion and watching the other boy do the same. 

The catchy melody blasted out of the speakers, the platform vibrating under them with the strong bass. Jay’s feet moved with practiced ease, the score bar soon favoring him as he hit every mark with a golden pixel explosion that read ‘Perfect!’. Joy overflowing from his veins as he quickly started hopping and moving his arms in the air in a choreography he’d come up with a while ago. Jay could spy the boy by his side stumbling as he got distracted by Jay’s zeal. His friends screaming and whistling —mostly just Kai— as they cheered on Jay. Soon enough, the song faded and Jay spun one last time, his 2D counterpart bouncing happily inside the machine.

Jay turned his face to the other dancer, the boy’s breath a bit labored as he spoke, “Those were some cool moves!”

“Thanks,” he giggled in return, cursing at himself as it kind of sounded like a flustered little girl.

“Gotta work harder if you’re not planning on going back home a lot poorer, gorgeous,” Kai leaned forward for a second. Jay facepalming as the other guy blinked in surprise at Kai’s obvious flirting.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jay said, trying to excuse his friend.

“It’s fine, he’s actually right. I knew you were good but, wow!” He said and Jay blushed deeper under his comments. Ugh, he couldn’t be developing a crush for a random boy that had approached them just out of boredom.

He couldn’t, _but he was_.

The time for the second round came and, once again, they let the game decide the next song. Hesitantly, Jay allowed his feet to slow down a couple of times, missing the perfect tempo on a few sets of steps. His mind considering if he should let the other boy win this round, or maybe even the whole battle. What would be best to open the door to a possible conversation and friendship? Settling for honesty, Jay discarded such ideas and focused on giving his best. If the boy turned out to be a sore loser Jay didn’t really see the two of them ever getting along. Sadly, his previous conscious mistakes had created a small gap between their scores, and even though Jay nailed most of the rest of the steps, the other boy, too, seemed to be giving his all in the dance and actually won the round.

“Oooh, it’s a tie!” Lloyd said.

“Wow, that was unexpected,” Kai wiggled his eyebrows at Jay. “Is _something_ distracting you?”

Jay clicked his tongue and smiled guiltily at the boy standing by his side, they both taking a moment to breathe and get sweaty hairs out of their faces.

“You didn’t let me win, did you?”

“Uh, no! Of course not!” Jay tried not to stutter. “My feet just slipped a couple of times.”

The other boy cocked an eyebrow at him with a soft smirk, he didn’t seem to be buying his excuse and Jay ducked his head in embarrassment. The bell of the final round chimed and a countdown appeared on the screens. 

“Uh, you know what? Why don’t you choose the next song?” Jay mumbled with rosy cheeks.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Jay thought that was the least he could do for his companion after being caught ‘cheating’.

“Okay,” the other boy smiled contently, hands pushing the buttons and browsing around the list. The time was running out when his eyes lit up and finally selected a track. Jay blinked in surprise, it was a four and a half stars choreography, definitely not something an amateur would be able to survive.

“I like that song,” the other dancer commented as he got to the center of the platform.

“It’s a tough one,” Jay warned.

The corners of the guy’s mouth curved up in a soft smile. “When you’re having fun, there’s no such thing as ‘too hard’.”

Jay stared at him, both confused and curious at the other’s words, although he liked his motto. The stranger pointed at the floor beneath Jay’s feet and he quickly readied himself on the stage. Kai, Zane and Lloyd cheering on him once again, they were starting to get a bit too loud for Jay’s taste, but thanks God, the first notes of the song finally came out through the speakers, pulling his whole focus into the dance. The first sequence was complex, but nothing Jay couldn’t manage. The beat fast and strong. Only when a softer part of the song came up did Jay really allow himself to check the score bar. Wow, the crown was switching from one character to the other with every new step. How was that boy even keeping up with such a frantic rhythm? 

Jay turned his face towards the dancer beside him, dark eyes pulling away from the screen and looking at Jay, too, as they both swayed with the momentarily easier sequence of steps. Jay was impressed, a little jealous to some point, but enjoying himself nevertheless. It had been long since he’d been challenged by an equal skilled dancer.

Suddenly, a mischievous smirk appeared in the other boy’s lips, pulling them up into a confident curve. Shivers ran down Jay’s spine at the action for no apparent reason. He didn’t even have the time to think about it. The beat picked up again, signaling the real nightmare was about to start. Jay was just preparing his legs for the complex sequence when the other boy leaned his arms on the bar behind them. His legs moving at high speed over the arrow panels beneath them; firm, fast and striking all the marks at the exact moment. He then pushed himself forward again, feet shuffling expertly from one icon to the other, body swaying and arms moving in sync with the music, accompanying his moves so gracefully. 

Jay froze in place, mouth agape and staring at the show taking place right by his side. In a split second the boy’s demeanor had changed from casual player to full dance mode.

 _‘What the heck?!’_ Jay shouted in his mind. That was impossible! No amateur could do that, it had taken Jay several weeks to get the hang of that specific set of moves. How could that boy even-

“Jay! The hell are you doing?! _Move!”_ Kai’s voice broke through the haze that was Jay’s mind at that moment. Jay’s eyes returned fast to the screen before him. Damn it! His combo was ruined! The score bar now definitely favoring the lumberjack character. 

_‘Shooooot!’_

With shaking limbs, Jay put all his senses into hitting the floor marks at the right time, maybe if he scored full perfects for what was left, he could still win. His eyes, though, kept glancing at the other platform and the boy dancing on top of it, clearly enjoying what he was doing and totally in sync with the melody, not missing a single step while his impressive moves pulled out gasps and squeals from the boys that were watching them.

_‘No, no, no!’_

Ten seconds left.

_‘Oh, come on!’_

Five seconds.

_‘Pleeeease!’_

The last arrow disappeared from the screen, the moving walkway that carried them coming to a stop. A sound of applause came from the machine as the lumberjack with the big mustache took the crown and jumped merrily. Jay looking in disbelief at the winner’s score. Even on his best days, _he_ wasn’t able to get such high numbers. Who the heck was-?

Jay froze again. _‘No way…’_

After the other boy let out a happy “Woohoo!” sound, he walked closer to the buttons again and started punching them, his hands almost automatic, as if they knew how many times they should press on each control as the boy entered his name in the song’s records.

_‘It can be…’_

R.O.C. read in the middle of the screen as the game thanked the players and switched back to the main screen. With a flushed face from the intense workout, the boy turned towards Jay and stretched out his arm for a handshake.

“You did amazing. Couldn’t expect anything else from the second-best player.”

Jay’s pupils shrunk to the size of a salt grain and color drained from his face as he heard Kai crying out a very loud “No fucking way!”

♦♦♦

“Dude! You totally fooled us!” Kai bellowed as he clang to the winner in the cafeteria area of the arcade, the other boy released a hearty laughter. “No, seriously! You don’t look like a legendary dancer!”

“What do I look like?”

“Uhm… I don’t know, you’re just… so normal. Well, I mean, _deliciously_ normal.” Kai only got another chortle in response to his flirtatious remark, which seemed to fly over the guy’s head.

As Kai, Zane, and Lloyd chatted with the winner of the dance battle, Jay could only bury his face in his hands, resting on the table where the group sat at. His mind far away from that place.

He couldn’t believe what had happened in the last half-hour; the very champion of the Dance of Doom had challenged him, and Jay, being the total oblivious idiot he was, had to brag to him about being the _second-best_ player. The heels of his palms dug harder into his eyelids, weird patches forming in his vision at the added pressure. To top it all he made a fool of himself, first trying to rig the results, and later failing epically on a song that he could perform with quite an ease on a regular basis. All in front of a boy he had even fantasized dating for a moment! 

Jay suppressed a groan. Maybe _he_ was the sore loser after all.

After being metaphorically beaten to a pulp, the group of friends had proceeded to fulfill their end of the bet. Roc —or Cole, as it resulted those initials were just shorter for Rocky, his nickname— got a full round of snacks and drinks from the other four boys. The skilled dancer, though, offered to share with them as he hung with the boys for a while, chatting and joking. Sadly, Jay wasn’t up for many jokes at the moment. He was really embarrassed at everything, his face a bright red, waiting for an excuse so he could get up and away from the group of boys just for a short moment. The chance came soon as Lloyd commented how he’d like another refill of his soda and Jay offered to bring it to him. 

Jay stood up from the couch and walked towards the tanks a few feet away. He took his time, pretending that the machine was stuck just so he could breathe and calm down before he had to go back and face the others, but his brain insisted in calling himself an idiot, a fool, a stupid and lame-

"Everything alright, Jay?"

He flinched, almost dropping the cup half-full of bubbling liquid. Cole stood by his side, a concerned smile on his face as he looked at Jay.

"I- yeah, yeah! The… thing is... uhm…" He stammered pressing at the machine's button again, pretending it wasn't working correctly. 

Cole just nodded, confirming he was listening.

"Hey, uhm, I have to get going already, but I wanted to properly say goodbye to you before I do so.”

"Oh." Jay's body untying just a small bit, he still felt so stupid and the sensation would most likely drag on for the rest of the day —maybe even the whole week.

"It was really cool, though. And not because I won," Cole said. "I've actually been dying to meet you for a while. I wondered who was that J.A.Y. that kept getting closer and closer to my scores," he chuckled.

Jay giggled rather awkwardly. He, too, had been dreaming about meeting the champion someday; they were a legend who could surely teach Jay a thing or two if they were ever up for it. But he had never imagined it would occur in such an embarrassing way.

"Uh, yeah, s-same here." Jay looked away from Cole's eyes. "I'm sorry about… earlier… when I..."

 _'Laughed at his face? Treated him like a brainless newbie? Checked him out on the sly? Take your pick. I got more!'_ Jay's inner voice scolded him.

"It's okay," Cole quickly said. He either sensed Jay's discomfort and wanted to put an end on it or he had already picked whatever option for the other boy.

Jay's head sunk deeper in his shoulders, just wanting to be as far away from the arcade and forget about everything when Cole leaned closer and produced a small piece of paper, handing it to Jay. 

The boy took it and before even looking at the contents he asked, "What's this?"

"My phone number," Cole replied straight away.

Jay's face shot up, eyes wide with surprised as he stared into Cole's own —and internally melted at the beauty of those warm orbs. Then, for the first time, he saw the tall boy blushing.

"You’ve got some really cool moves. I thought we could hang out together some other time and... share some tricks?" He asked, dark eyelashes trembling as he looked down at Jay with half-lidded eyes. His fingers still grasping onto Jay's hand in the everlasting action of giving him the paper sheet.

"I- uh… I…" Jay's whole body shook, his mind going blank, everything disappeared for a second; his friends, the arcade, the drink in his other hand. Everything just seemed to stop as Cole's doe-eyes stared into him, hopeful, somewhat sheepish to some extent as the blush below them darkened.

"O-Okay," Jay replied short and with a weak voice. Immediate panic settling in his guts as he realized what he'd just done. He couldn't really be thinking that the very Dance of Doom champion would be interested in him _that_ _way._

"Cool," Cole said, giving Jay's fingers a little squeeze before finally releasing him —squeeze that made Jay's heart skip a beat. 

As he imagined Cole would just turn around and walk away, the boy leaned in instead. His face right next to Jay’s, lips reaching his ear to whisper, "Just keep it away from Kai's hands for now, okay? I've got nothing against him but… I like _another type_ of boys."

Jay's breath hitched quite loudly, and given how close Cole's face was to him, he was sure the boy had heard it too. Still, Cole made no joke about it but simply pulled away and smiled at a very red-faced Jay. The flushed boy nodded stiffly, confirming he’d understood the request.

"Thanks," Cole's face quite flustered too. "See ya', Jay." His left eye closing and opening in a flash before he grinned and disappeared from his sight.

Jay just stood there, legs rooted to the tiled floor as his brain got in gear to process what had just happened, and no matter how he tried to analyze it —Cole had, unmistakably, _winked_ at him. 

With shaky limbs, Jay finally looked down and unfolded the piece of paper, reading the numbers scribbled on it, not missing the little smiley blowing a kiss drawn at the end. Jay stored the paper into his pocket and quickly finished filling the cup of soda, adding a bunch of ice to it and taking a giant sip, in a desperate attempt to cool off his body after realizing the hidden message in Cole's words and gestures.

Well, he could at least cross out 'fantasizing about the champion’ from the list of idiotic things he'd done that day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Thank you very much for reading!  
> Remember to hit that kudos button, comment and follow for more. See ya in the next update! (≧∇≦)/


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